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Usually derived from Proto-Indo-European*wēt-, *wet-, *ut-, from the stem *wē- ‎(“to blow”) (whence also Latinvējš ‎(“wind”), q.v.) with a suffix -t. J. Endzelīns, connecting this word to Old Prussianwutris ‎(“blacksmith”), and noting the ancient link between the notions of “forging” and “pricking, piercing” (compare Latviankalt ‎(“to forge”), Russianколоть ‎(kolót', “to pierce”)), suggested that the original meaning of uts was “that which pierces; stitch.” Another opinion is that uts (via *wet-, with a suffix -t) derives from Proto-Indo-European *eu- ‎(“to feel”) (whence also Latvianjust ‎(“to feel”), q.v.), so that its original meaning would have been “that which is felt, which irritates.” A third suggestion is that uts comes from Proto-Indo-European *lus, *luH ‎(“louse”) (compare Lithuanianliũlė, GermanLaus, Englishlouse), a word which many daughter languages altered or abandoned, perhaps because of linguistic taboos; in the Baltic case, only the middle u would have been kept, with an extra suffix -t. Cognates include Lithuanianutėlė̃, dialectal utė̃, utìs.[1]